I was going to wait and just try it before I posted it, but the POR board is notorious its brutal honesty, so let's have it.

I should actually call this a bead "retention" system rather than a "beadlock" as it won't do anything more than prevent the tire from slipping off of the bead. Full on bead locks are a pain in the ass, but so is a tire that has wrapped itself around a once good shock. So here is my idea: drill a yet 3/8ths hole in the wheel just behind the tire bead once seated. Weld a nut to the wheel(a good weld), a little thread tape on a bolt that protrudes into the airchamber inside the tire. Even a 1/4 inch of bolt would be enough to retain the tire as there are at least a half dozen of these bolts around the wheel, thus making it a half inch rise the tire would need to roll over. Any more than 3/8 exposed bolt and I fear a cut tire or a hole in the sidewall may be a factor. I also fear that the threads on the bolt would act like a file against a spinning tire, so here is another idea. Use a half inch bolt and buff the threads off leacing a nice smooth stud to do the job.

So, what's the verdict? Would it work?

Is this rig going to be driven on the street? How much of a problem would it be to get this balanced?

Balanced? what's that? I suppose if you put all the bolts equally in quarters around the wheel, you might be able to balance it. But not likely.

Try it and tell us if you like it. Ive been thinking about that same thing for my 16.1" rims. Im not to sure if I have the guts to be the first one to try it. :D I think that Id use a few more bolts though. Maybe 12 to 16?

I like the idea and it shouldn't be a problem to balance or run at speed since dragsters use just screws all the time....I like beadlocks just not anything sticking out from the rim... will be interesting to weld and keep air tight without a taper to the thread but make sure you use locktight or some type of thread sealer.....most air fittings use a taper to them so good luck holding air, much the same as beadlocks that most at home doer's try...

It would seem to me you'd have to put quite a few bolts around the diameter of the wheel. I think they'd have to protrude inside a little more than what you have shown. If they tire were to become dislodged and the bolts were too short or not enough of them, it's gonna shred the fawk out the bead as it goes over. Just my 2¢

I was thinking of this myself a little while back, but I was thinking of using a lot more bolts and angling them so they actually push the tire against the bead.
problems I see include sealing the damm things, I've welded holes in rims before and had some trouble getting them to seal yeah teflon tape on the threads will do that part
seating the tire in the first place, you will have to seal the nut long enough to get the tire seated on there to put the bolts in.
the bolts will be running against or close to the tire but if you grind the ends nice and smooth I suppose it would be ok (thats why I figured a lot of bolts would be better cause it spreads the load around)
I havn't got the nuts to try this with my neww boggers but I might give it a go on the old set and see how it works.

I left out another idea to seal them up. If you tapered the inside of the nut, you could place a small o-ring around the bolt. It would seal nicely between the bolt head and the tapered nut. The angled bolt idea sounds good, but I worry about it pushing the tire up and off of the wheel. I don't think you would want to run them much longer than 3/8ths or so. If you were running the tires at minimum pressures and the tire was folded inward and you then hit a rock or something, a puncture may be in order. My idea is to simply hold the tire on the bead until you are able to put a little more air in. You will have plenty of time to prevent any cuts because you will see the tire spinning on the rim. Also ,the initial seating of the tire is a minor problem I never considered. I suppose you could just thread in a few bolts to seat it, then replace them with the longer, taped and o-ringed bolts.
Another idea could be a tapered block that you insetrt into the wheel after the outside bead has been seated. A bolt through the outside of the wheel would thread into the block inside the wheel and pulled toward the bead, clamping the tire in place.
We don't really even run beadlocks here. We have very few problems with it and are able to catch a low tire and add a few pounds when necessary. It's those "slipped off a rock and folded the tire over" situations that I am thinking about. Blows the frikkin' tire all the way off of the wheel. Then you gotta dig out all the crap and mud, clean the wheel surface, and spend an hour not wheelin' cuz the damn tire wants to hug a shock. Annoying.

Low air pressure, pinched up against a rock, that bolt is coming THROUGH the sidewall....

Originally posted by DRM
Low air pressure, pinched up against a rock, that bolt is coming THROUGH the sidewall....

Thats what I have been thinking...the bolts are going to be either too short and shread the bead when it comes off or its going to be too long and punture the sidewall when it gets pinch against a rock or you loose your bead and are basically riding on spikes(the bolts):D:D:D I like thinking outside the box though

Remember that these bolts aren't poking the middle of the sidewall. They are down at the bottom of the bead and right next to the tire. You can't fold a swamper enough to pucture it, just rub it on the bolts. But like I said, this is for crawling, not rock racing. It is not intented to clamp the bead, only prevent it from leaving the seat to simplify re-inflation.

yeah i think for my idea to work the bolt would have to come in on a bit on an angle and hit the tire really close to where it hits the wheel.
besides that it would be a lot of work, I'll just save up for beadlocks.

Don't they call those "Street Locks"? :D Seriously though, I forsee some major bead damage happening with 12 bolts. On a 15 inch rim, that's a bolt every 3.9 inches which seems like more than enough leverage to pop them over the bolts when aired down and against a rock. Besides, what a PITA to get the bead seated again if it does go over the bolts.

Originally posted by twistedmetal
Remember that these bolts aren't poking the middle of the sidewall. They are down at the bottom of the bead and right next to the tire. You can't fold a swamper enough to pucture it, just rub it on the bolts. But like I said, this is for crawling, not rock racing. It is not intented to clamp the bead, only prevent it from leaving the seat to simplify re-inflation.

You sire about that? I know several people whose MRT beadlock ring edges are cutting into the tire where the edge is. Fact is they WILL fold over that low on the bead, I have seen it many times.

I'll be "nice" it's a bad idea MKay:D

Welding a lot of pipe I had an idea for making a saftey bead for 16.5's

I was going to cut a ring off a 16" pipe with a beveling torch so that the inside of the ring was beveled at a 45 and the outside of the ring was square against the bead of the tire put it inside the wheel the thickness of the bead away from the outside of the rim the same place that you were thinking about putting the bolts that way you would have a saftey bead about 3/8 thick kapeech?

the bead would be trapped between the ring and the outside of the rim. I would probably drill and tap the ring and drill the holes in the rim and weld a nut with the threads drilled out to the rim over the hole with the bevel in the nut for the o-ring that would be over the bolt, and/or cut a ring around the bolt right by the head too. so that way if it was a bitch to get the tire off the rim when you needed to you could unbolt the ring and let it fall back.
might want to put the ring in 2 pieces

you could also make the ring out of 3/8 cold roll rod and weld it to the wheel. maybe just 1/4 rod

what yall think?

this could be done with 15" wheels too

Originally posted by skeetshooter
Welding a lot of pipe I had an idea for making a saftey bead for 16.5's

I was going to cut a ring off a 16" pipe with a beveling torch so that the inside of the ring was beveled at a 45 and the outside of the ring was square against the bead of the tire put it inside the wheel the thickness of the bead away from the outside of the rim the same place that you were thinking about putting the bolts that way you would have a saftey bead about 3/8 thick kapeech?

the bead would be trapped between the ring and the outside of the rim. I would probably drill and tap the ring and drill the holes in the rim and weld a nut with the threads drilled out to the rim over the hole with the bevel in the nut for the o-ring that would be over the bolt, and/or cut a ring around the bolt right by the head too. so that way if it was a bitch to get the tire off the rim when you needed to you could unbolt the ring and let it fall back.
might want to put the ring in 2 pieces

you could also make the ring out of 3/8 cold roll rod and weld it to the wheel. maybe just 1/4 rod

what yall think?

this could be done with 15" wheels too

or U could do it the right way and get beadlocks....stop trying to reinvent the wheel, it ain't broken!:rolleyes:

I do have a set of beadlocks and

being a tightwad I think of these things that would cost me nothing but time.

not trying to reinvent the wheel just trying to be resourceful

maybe I should quit thinking for myself and follow blindly after others.

good thing Henry Ford didnt or we wouldnt even have a hobby

maybe we would be wheeling the old fashioned way with horse and buggy.

:flipoff2:

Originally posted by skeetshooter
I do have a set of beadlocks and

being a tightwad I think of these things that would cost me nothing but time.

not trying to reinvent the wheel just trying to be resourceful

maybe I should quit thinking for myself and follow blindly after others.

good thing Henry Ford didnt or we wouldnt even have a hobby

maybe we would be wheeling the old fashioned way with horse and buggy.

:flipoff2:

no, ford had good ideas:flipoff2: think of all the bad ideas that didn't make it.......

I was going to cut a ring off a 16" pipe with a beveling torch so that the inside of the ring was beveled at a 45 and the outside of the ring was square against the bead of the tire put it inside the wheel the thickness of the bead away from the outside of the rim the same place that you were thinking about putting the bolts that way you would have a saftey bead about 3/8 thick kapeech?

maybe combine the two ideas? cut the rings to fit your rim, drill and tap holes in the inner ring, then just drill the rim to fit? put these rings inside the tire when you mount it (easy on my 16.5's) put the tire that side down till the ring lines up and bolt it in place, hell it could be 1/2 inch thick and it wouldn't matter.

not trying to invent the wheel again, trying to find a way to have locks without spending a fortune I don't have. doubt I could find any steel plate that thick for cheap and cutting perfectly round holes with a torch is out.

unless anyone knows of weld on locks for a 16.5 wheel really cheap? oh yeah still need to deal with the rear bead.

hell if anyone near colorado wants to play around a little bit I have a set of 5 on 4.5 16 inch rims and a set of 5 on 4.5 fifteen inch rims that you can take away for free and use as dummies till anyone finds something that works.....

or jsut fork a few $ over to rockstomper and be extremely happy.

Originally posted by mytzlflick



unless anyone knows of weld on locks for a 16.5 wheel really cheap? oh yeah still need to deal with the rear bead. ................rockstomper I think. either way he has kits cheap enough to not even bother with anything else.

If they fail you will have a fu$% of a time reseating the bead.

Originally posted by mytzlflick
not trying to invent the wheel again, trying to find a way to have locks without spending a fortune I don't have. doubt I could find any steel plate that thick for cheap and cutting perfectly round holes with a torch is out.

unless anyone knows of weld on locks for a 16.5 wheel really cheap? oh yeah still need to deal with the rear bead.

Have you gone to a shop that does lasar or plasma cutting? If you can work up the CAD drawings of the rings with everything laid out, all you have left is bolts, nutserts, and welding the rings in place.

Cost isn't a factor for me(well, not the #1 factor), we have been taking a lot of grief here for running beadlocks on the street. A local moron put a set on his 44 inch boggers and is one of those types who believes his POS is a Frickin Tank and drives it like that. Well, he came screaming in to a local parking lot one day and whipped it hard to the right and all I heard was a loud pop and 0ver it went. Slid about 20 feet on its door into the glass wall of the Staples building. My jaw took a week to close. And these were actually pretty well built and put together beadlocks, 1/4 inch plate, 32 3/8 bolts, 360* welds, etc. My guess is that he had a few broken or loose bolts and the force of 30 pounds of air pressure and a heavy truck took care of the rest.
So there are several reasons I want to try something else. We drive our rigs everyday up here, all the trails are within an hour or so. It isn't worth the hassle of a trailer and kinda takes the fun out of a nice hot day.
I have run 38 inch tires on 8 inch wheels for years and have never blown a bead. I slid off of a boulder in the Black Hills last year and caught an under cut rock and put a 38 around my shock and ripped the soft line off my rear disc. I think just the smallest amount of resistance would have saved the headache, but who knows?

Originally posted by twistedmetal
................A local moron put a set on his 44 inch boggers and is one of those types who believes his POS is a Frickin Tank and drives it like that. Well, he came screaming in to a local parking lot one day and whipped it hard to the right and all I heard was a loud pop and 0ver it went. Slid about 20 feet on its door into the glass wall of the Staples building. ..........

Morons fuckin it up for everybody sinces 347 B.C.:flipoff2:

How about a ring that bolts around the wheel with a big fat lip(smooth, of course), on the tire edges? This would lock inner and outer beads, but it would be a little heavy, and screw with the balancing of the tire later. But, that would definately work.

Wouldn't it?


It would also be cheap and easy to make. Everyone's happy.

Originally posted by twistedmetal
How about a ring that bolts around the wheel with a big fat lip(smooth, of course), on the tire edges? This would lock inner and outer beads, but it would be a little heavy, and screw with the balancing of the tire later. But, that would definately work.

Wouldn't it?


It would also be cheap and easy to make. Everyone's happy. :question: :question: :question: :question: :question:
Put the pipe down, U R gona burn your fingers!

Similar to the hummer wheel beadlocks, or a Swedish tire loc. Sits inside the wheel, between the beads.
Wait a minute. How in the hell am I gonna seat both beads and bolt that ring together. That's not gonna f#$%@&n work! UNLESS... anyone know any midgets who would want to ride around inside my wheels for a while?

Originally posted by SeaBass44


or U could do it the right way and get beadlocks....stop trying to reinvent the wheel, it ain't broken!:rolleyes:

Why you gotta bash a guy for trying to better an exsisting product. some really good products have come about this way. just cut a guy some slack for trying to be inventive. AND no im not saying dont pick on people and make fun of people. Its just that if the guy has an idea worth looking at do just that, look......

Originally posted by twistedmetal
Similar to the hummer wheel beadlocks, or a Swedish tire loc. Sits inside the wheel, between the beads.
Wait a minute. How in the hell am I gonna seat both beads and bolt that ring together. That's not gonna f#$%@&n work! UNLESS... anyone know any midgets who would want to ride around inside my wheels for a while?

I told U to put the pipe away! now U want Midgets??? U R WACK:flipoff2: :flipoff2: :flipoff2: :flipoff2:

Originally posted by stonpny


Why you gotta bash a guy for trying to better an exsisting product. some really good products have come about this way. just cut a guy some slack for trying to be inventive. AND no im not saying dont pick on people and make fun of people. Its just that if the guy has an idea worth looking at do just that, look......

guess u read more into that, but it was not a good idea, sorry I know the truth hurts, this bb does not pussy foot ya, if it's a good idea, and there are allot of them here. go look at my responce to the guy making arms, they might be great, I will be posting pics of them in a few days when I get them, for now here is a pic of his cool bumper he made so u can see I don't put EVERYBODY DOWN:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

tristedmetal--- your idea is interesting but that seems like alot of work to get everything just right. I followed up on a suggestion from crashinaz and gooked on some polyurethane roof flash sealant available from Home Depot. I used to have a major problem loosing air. My prob is 100% gone now.....if you change tires every 4 months then don't do the sealant method....they are supposed to be very difficult to unseat.

Oh, I know all the tricks to seal up a tire. Hell, I have never even blown a bead('cept that one freaky deal). I just want to see if I can come up with an idea that would go the distance and take only a few bucks, a few beers, and a few minutes. I know there is one out there, I am right on the edge of it...

C'mon, I know you guys all have an idea or two bouncing off those steel plates, let's hear 'em! I'll buy a case of beer for the first "out of the box" functional idea I hear. I am just so sick of seeing everyone whip out the checkbooks and order up something that someone else has built. I feel if I can't build it, then it ain't worth having(with the exception of gears and engine blocks).

Originally posted by twistedmetal
I feel if I can't build it, then it ain't worth having(with the exception of gears and engine blocks).

Cool U can make tires;););)

Well, duh! Why in the hell else would I be saving everyones used condoms? Geez...

Originally posted by twistedmetal
Well, duh! Why in the hell else would I be saving everyones used condoms? Geez...

BWAHHAHAHAHAHA
(it's says on the packet:)
please do not send used items back to the manufacturer............


so we know where to send them now!!

i want some red ones (cherry flavoured) in a BOGGER style pattern!!! :D :D

This idea may be an acceptably o.k. IF, The bead will carry momentun to set against the rim egde once the tire bead passes those drilled holes. Typically takes a pressurization to get the beads set in the first place.

Good luck if the bead decides to stop just after the screwholes, as the bolts won't be in them, UNLESS you left the bolts in the nuts and not protruding beyond bead surface until the bead is set.:D

I had purchased a couple packages of rim screws made by Mr. Gasket, used for stock drags, that tap into the outer edge of the rim into the bead. Never used them yet as that I have no idea of their effectiveness. :nuke:

Originally posted by mtndewmaniac
Never used them yet as that I have no idea of their effectiveness. :nuke:

Well drag cars don't have rocks pushing on there tires......he he

I have used the rim screws before. They did the job, but when I did need to pull the ire off of the rim, I would find 4 or 5 broken screws. Pain in the ass to get 'em back out.
Ironically enough, I was just with a new groupo of wheelers this weekend and saw two funny things. First, a kid new to wheelin' showed up complaining about his rim screws. Said he couldn't get the tires to stop leaking. Turns out he used his own idea, which was 3/8 lag bolts about an inch and a half long! The bead is only 3/4 inch thick! Too funny. There went a brand new set of tires. I told him to fill in the holes and spin the tire on the rim, should be fine. Second, A guy with a rather high dollar rig showed up with a new set of beadlocks. I didn't get a chance to see what brand they were, but he was making sure everyone saw them. So, we get to the trail head and he wants to show off so he pulls the valve cores and gets back in his Jeep. He didn't get halfway up the first ledge when the front end slid out from under him, and the front right wheel slammed REALLY hard. It peeled the tire right out of the lock and phuct up the bead pretty bad. It took about an hour and a half to get the 36 bolts out, re-center the tire the best we could, and say a prayer that the bead didn't finish ripping on the highway back in. What's even funnier, is that he pulled the valve cores...then asked if any of us had a compressor!
So I think I am going to stick with the Black Hills' Beadlock, an 8 inch wheel with laquer on the bead and call it a good day.

Originally posted by SeaBass44


Well drag cars don't have rocks pushing on there tires......he he

LOL.:flipoff2:

Often wondered if they would work in an offroad environment, gotta be better than nothin, maybe.

I originally bought them for my modified 82 T/A back when I still had cars.:flipoff2: But the bustin axles and twisted frame WITH subframe connectors got old.:D :flipoff2: :D

Originally posted by twistedmetal
................ A guy with a rather high dollar rig showed up with a new set of beadlocks......... he was making sure everyone saw them. ......... he wants to show off so he pulls the valve cores and .............didn't get halfway up the first ledge when the front end slid out from under him, and the front right wheel slammed REALLY hard. It peeled the tire right out of the lock and phuct up the bead pretty bad. ............ What's even funnier, is that he pulled the valve cores...then asked if any of us had a compressor!
...........
stupid people piss me off!

stupid people piss me off


Well, I hate to really piss you off even more, but those are the ones that run this place called Earth!

Originally posted by twistedmetal



Well, I hate to really piss you off even more, but those are the ones that run this place called Earth!

yup I know:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Originally posted by twistedmetal
... I didn't get a chance to see what brand they were, but he was making sure everyone saw them.

...It took about an hour and a half to get the 36 bolts out, re-center the tire the best we could, and say a prayer that the bead didn't finish ripping on the highway back in.

So obviously you saw the wheels up close after he tore the bead off, what brand were they?

Don't know. Would like to say they were Champions, but there wasn't exactly a big sticker on them saying so. I guess I really wasn't concerned about brand names as this really had nothing to do with the locks themselves. I have seen this happen before. That, and I was too busy calling him a moron to ask him what his wheels were!

Originally posted by twistedmetal
I was too busy calling him a moron to ask him what his wheels were! And U think that's cool? U should have stopped him from letting out all the air if u could have:rolleyes:

Uh, last time I checked, I wasn't the trail babysitter. These are all grown-ups, here. Besides, you would think that someone running that setup might possibly have the common sense to at least check for an air supply if not have his own:confused:. Not to mention the fact that I was in someone elses town on THEIR trails. I just kept my mouth shut and assumed(as you would), that they all know what they're doing.